Won't Be Long Until Planet of the Apes
Chimps fashion spears to kill prey
. . . Using their hands and teeth, the chimpanzees were repeatedly seen tearing the side branches off long, straight sticks, peeling back the bark and sharpening one end, the researchers reported Thursday in the online issue of the journal Current Biology. Then, grasping the weapon in a “power grip,” they jabbed into tree branch hollows where bush babies — small monkey-like mammals — sleep during the day.
After stabbing their prey repeatedly, they removed the injured or dead animals and ate them.
“It was really alarming how forceful it was,” said the lead researcher, Jill D. Pruetz of Iowa State University.
It reminded her of the murderous shower scene in the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Psycho,” she said, and added: “It was kind of scary.” . . .
posted by Degolar @ 3:33 PM
2 Comments:
Not really news, though, is it? Evidence of primitive tool using and hunting behavior amongst chimps has been around for decades. Even more interesting is that chimps actually engage in what, for lack of a better term, might be called "war". That is the killing of other groups of chimps over territorial boundaries.
It was only a couple of bush babies!!!
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